Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) CEO Ronald Mittelstaedt Buys 50,000 Shares

Key Points

• CEO Ronald Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of Waste Connections stock at an average price of $152.24, a transaction worth about $7.61 million. The purchase boosted his direct ownership by nearly 20% to 301,017 shares.
• The stock was down 0.6% in trading, recently changing hands around $150.30, which is near its 52-week low of $148.84. It remains below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Waste Connections beat earnings expectations last quarter with EPS of $1.23 versus the $1.19 consensus, though revenue of $2.33 billion came in below estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, and analysts broadly rate the stock a Buy with an average target price of $203.35.

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) CEO Ronald Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WCN traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.30. The company had a trading volume of 511,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,626,867. The stock has a market cap of $38.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.56, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.84 and a 52-week high of $198.00.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. Waste Connections's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.15%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,552,682,000 after purchasing an additional 717,440 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,134,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 17.6% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,078,536,000 after purchasing an additional 918,245 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $835,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,675,737 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $819,939,000 after acquiring an additional 220,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $183.00 price target (down from $196.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $203.35.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections NYSE: WCN is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company's operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.

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